2024 has been a phenomenal year for my channel. I just recently crossed the 14,000 subscriber mark. To put that into context, I started this channel in 2009 and by 31st May 2024 I had about 7,500 subscribers. From June to December 31st 2024 over 7,500 new subscribers came on board. So it took 6 months to do what had taken 168 months (14 years) to do previously (see the spike in the chart on the right-hand side). It means 2024 has been the most productive and successful YouTube year for me ever, by a very, very, very long way.
Up until recently, I used to regret not having made the most of my channel back in the 2010s which I saw as a golden age for YouTube. Things were much easier then (I told myself). It was much easier to build a community, to monetise, etc. I used to look enviously at other channels that I used to be on par with but which had gone into the stratosphere. I was very entitled, frankly. I felt that I *deserved* success and that it wasn't fair I wasn't successful (so I thought). But actually, I was successful, all this time. For example, I have been doing things that literally no-one else has been doing on here. For example, through 2023 and into 2024, I did regular live streams where I read through some weighty, philosophy/history books (check the "Podcasts" section for those). If looked at through the prism of viewer numbers, those videos were flops. I hoped I would gain hundreds of viewers, but the average number of live viewers would be 5 or less (and never more than 20). But we had conversations of real quality and depth. We could really dig into subjects in great detail, looking at them from various angles. I remember a couple of streams where not a single person joined. I actually enjoyed those ones because I could just freely talk and think through ideas. I also started a short podcast called the Panafrican Science Podcast where I shared some of what I've been learning about the importance of light in human health.
All of this prepared me to take the next step in my journey, with these more recent videos that have caught the attention of so many new people. It's been an absolute blessing to have so many of you enjoying my videos and I'm looking forward to continuing in the new year. The type of content I do will continue to evolve and adapt because as I grow and develop as a person, the content must do likewise. But the one thing I promise is that a) I' will always be open-minded and critical thinking and b) I will always focus on how we can make our lives better, higher vibrational, etc - individually and collectively.
I haven't "made it" or anything like that. But I do feel that as far as this content stuff goes, I am flowing much more, in sync with my life's calling/mission. I want to encourage anyone who is working on something and feeling discouraged at the apparent lack of success. Keep going. Keep experimenting, keep refining, keep learning. I firmly believe that in most areas of life, if we play to our strengths and aim to get a little bit better each day, we will see success, even if that success might not look how we wanted it to look.
Happy New Year to everyone. May 2025 bless you abundantly.
Ely Wananda
2024 has been a phenomenal year for my channel. I just recently crossed the 14,000 subscriber mark. To put that into context, I started this channel in 2009 and by 31st May 2024 I had about 7,500 subscribers. From June to December 31st 2024 over 7,500 new subscribers came on board. So it took 6 months to do what had taken 168 months (14 years) to do previously (see the spike in the chart on the right-hand side). It means 2024 has been the most productive and successful YouTube year for me ever, by a very, very, very long way.
Up until recently, I used to regret not having made the most of my channel back in the 2010s which I saw as a golden age for YouTube. Things were much easier then (I told myself). It was much easier to build a community, to monetise, etc. I used to look enviously at other channels that I used to be on par with but which had gone into the stratosphere. I was very entitled, frankly. I felt that I *deserved* success and that it wasn't fair I wasn't successful (so I thought). But actually, I was successful, all this time. For example, I have been doing things that literally no-one else has been doing on here. For example, through 2023 and into 2024, I did regular live streams where I read through some weighty, philosophy/history books (check the "Podcasts" section for those). If looked at through the prism of viewer numbers, those videos were flops. I hoped I would gain hundreds of viewers, but the average number of live viewers would be 5 or less (and never more than 20). But we had conversations of real quality and depth. We could really dig into subjects in great detail, looking at them from various angles. I remember a couple of streams where not a single person joined. I actually enjoyed those ones because I could just freely talk and think through ideas. I also started a short podcast called the Panafrican Science Podcast where I shared some of what I've been learning about the importance of light in human health.
All of this prepared me to take the next step in my journey, with these more recent videos that have caught the attention of so many new people. It's been an absolute blessing to have so many of you enjoying my videos and I'm looking forward to continuing in the new year. The type of content I do will continue to evolve and adapt because as I grow and develop as a person, the content must do likewise. But the one thing I promise is that a) I' will always be open-minded and critical thinking and b) I will always focus on how we can make our lives better, higher vibrational, etc - individually and collectively.
I haven't "made it" or anything like that. But I do feel that as far as this content stuff goes, I am flowing much more, in sync with my life's calling/mission. I want to encourage anyone who is working on something and feeling discouraged at the apparent lack of success. Keep going. Keep experimenting, keep refining, keep learning. I firmly believe that in most areas of life, if we play to our strengths and aim to get a little bit better each day, we will see success, even if that success might not look how we wanted it to look.
Happy New Year to everyone. May 2025 bless you abundantly.
4 months ago | [YT] | 188